THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

April 1, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

Today is April 1^st, which people often refer to as "April Fools Day". As a kid, did you ever try to fool people by playing a prank on them or have an adult try to play a trick on you; then afterwards say, "April Fools!"?

Here's a few little fun facts: Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1^st and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1^st, became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18^th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event. It started with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's rears, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them. On this day in 1700, English pranksters began popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

I remember as a little girl I one time spent the night with my uncle and aunt and he came in and woke me up that morning playing an April Fools' joke on me. I can't remember what it was now, but remember him laughing and thinking that it was so funny that he had tricked me. Throughout the years I have tried to prank people, and have had people try and prank me. It was all done in good fun!

Have you ever felt like God was playing an April Fools' joke on you? Oh, we wouldn't come right out and say so, but it sometimes feels as if He is dangling a carrot in front of us full of promise, then as soon as we get close, He keeps moving it. "April Fools'! I didn't really mean it; I was just tricking you!"

Honestly, I've felt like that before. I know that He is a good Father and loves me. I know that He hears and answers prayer. I know that He is full of mercy and compassion. But there have been occasions when I've prayed and have felt as if God has given me a promise, then every time I get close, it gets yanked out of sight. It has sometimes felt as if He has said, "April Fools! I was just seeing how you'd react and didn't mean it. I was teasing you."

I know that's not true and not the nature of our Father. But it's how I've felt. I know that my emotions often opposed the truth or facts of what the real situation is.

Often our emotions don't coordinate with reality. For instance, I may think that someone is irritated with me, then I feel offended and upset due to a look they gave me or something that was said or tone in which it was spoken. I stew about it, wondering what I've done and why they are upset. The truth is, perhaps when they saw you they had just received bad news or had something important on their mind, and have no idea that they looked at you "wrong" or spoke in a tone that perhaps wasn't as pleasant as usual. That was never their intent and the reality is that they were upset themselves and totally unaware that they did anything that offended or hurt your feelings. Perhaps they misunderstood what you had said and responded according to what they thought they had heard.

Our emotions often don't coordinate with the reality of how we perceive the Father. He's not a prankster and doesn't hold out promises in front of us, only to yank them away each time we get close. The truth may be that God places those promises directly in front of us time after time, not to taunt us, but to remind us of His Word to give us hope!!

Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?"

Psalm 145:13b says, "The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does."

Be encouraged today and know that God will be faithful to fulfill His word and keep all of His promises. You can trust Him! Don't lose hope or allow your emotions to override your faith.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

People tend to be terribly unreliable. We plan to be somewhere, but have car trouble. We promise to finish a report by the end of the day, then have a kid who has to be sent home from school. We take a phone message, then forget to pass it along. We promise to give someone some wonderful gift, then make them wait till Christmas Day to give it to them. Or we promise to do all we can to keep them happy, and give them spinach instead of brownies.

They get so bad that the rest of us learn to stop counting on each other. They keep disappointing us so much we quit expecting anything from them.

That's bad enough. But then we start expecting God to let us down. But we don't always listen well enough to the answer to know we need to wait until the day comes, or till we're ready, or whatever. We jump to believe God has let us down like we expected, even though we insist that we prayed in faith.

ON THE MENEWE:

Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops

In a small bowl mix the can of soup, dry Ranch mix, and water. Pour some of the mixture in the bottom of the crockpot. Place the pork chops in the crockpot. Cover the pork chops with the rest of the soup mixture.

Cook on low for 4 hours, or until pork chops are tender.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My sister, Janie, and her husband were pastors to the deaf for many years. When their two oldest children, Janee' and Jordan, were young kids, the two of them and Janie were the only hearing people attending the church. To keep them quiet and occupied, Janie would have the kids take turns voice interpreting the Sunday evening service. My brother-in-law would preach in sign language, and they would voice out loud what he was signing. One evening, Jimmy was signing, "God reigns, God reigns." Janee' misread his signs and very seriously voiced, "God roller skate, God roller skates!"

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Magnifying God doesn't make Him bigger, it makes your perspective of Him bigger. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org